Kolkata: Amid hopes of the country's football standards reaching new heights with the advent of the Indian Super League, national team head coach Stephen Constantine on Friday expressed his conviction that things could change soon, but said he was not a messiah to bring about a new era overnight.
"I am not a messiah to change the country's football infrastructure overnight. We have been below average a long time. But I believe it is going to change soon. We have done some very wrong things but some little right things too. Personally, I would want to break into the top 100 soon," Constantine told reporters at a media conference here.
The Anglo-Cypriot Constantine, who is currently enjoying his second stint as the national coach after serving during 2002-05, said there has not been much of youth development over the last ten years.
"There has been no youth development, the clubs more than the national side should play more under 14s, under 15s, but not with 21-year-old players playing in the under 15 leagues."
"Coaches found doing that will be severely punished. You see even a top premier league club like Manchester United spend so much on youth, so why are we lagging behind?" he queried.
Constantine rued that even the top flight football clubs in the country have very poor infrastructure that lacks the basic training facilities.
"We do not have suitable training facilities, neither infrastructure needed for football. We have had to shift our training camp to Guwahati because the hotel and the training facilities were close to the ground. In some Indian cities it takes one hour to reach the ground from the hotel. The two biggest clubs here (Kolkata) have no basic facilities. It is a bit of a joke," he rebuked.
When asked about to spell out one positive difference over the last decade, he said: "Players are more comfortable with the ball now, but if you ask me to compare between the teams of 2005 and now it will be difficult."
Asked at a media interaction in the city if it was he who had wanted the age-old, prestigious tournament to end, he said: "Yes, I am not happy with the format. Five games in nine days! It is ridiculous. Players need rest and recovery.
"I would have been game if it was a knock-out tournament. But you don't even have enough teams in the I-League (11 teams) to feature in a knockout."
The 52-year-old Englishman, now on his second stint with the Indian football team, said he had enjoyed a successful period coaching Rwanda in 2014-15. But he felt coaching in Africa was a different ball game altogether as most earn their livelihood from playing football.
"In Rwanda it is different, you shake a tree and footballers fall from it. Out of 10 players three make it to Europe, because that is what they do, play football for a living... You cannot expect that here in India," he said.
Speaking on the Indian Super League (ISL), the franchise based football competition that has taken the country by storm, Constantine said: "I think it is great... where else would you find Elano (Blumer), Nicolas (Anelka) training with them (Indian players)?"
"But I believe they did not help the national players much, the organisers need to look into this. I think the Indian players can learn a lot from them."
Asked why Romeo Fernandes, one of the brightest prospects of the ISL, was dropped from the list of probables for 2018 World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification matches against Oman and Guam, Constantine said: "I have been wanting to answer this question for so long. Romeo went to Brazil to play for Atletico Paranaense and has played only 18 minutes in the last four months."
"Would you have picked him for the Indian national football team? But the tour is still open and anyone can come into the squad."
"I would want the boys to give their 100 percent. There will be no easy games," he said.
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